Internship in India!

This is my third time in India so I didn´t expect any culture shock. But I should have, in the beginning it was all about being in culture shock, again.

In my first day, monsoon rain welcomed me to India. I poor girl didn´t know that here is monsoon in December in south India. I was supposed to take taxi after long travelling to my destination BUT. The rain was so heavy that it was impossible to go from Chennai airport to city where I am working (no one would drive to Indian traffic in that weather). So there was only a small sign in prepaid taxi stand: NO TAXI.

So I needed to stay in Chennai, the 4th biggest city in India. Water on the dirty street was almost on my knees. Walking in water all over wet, finally I found a hotel, food and train for next day to leave to my destination. And I had amazing 14 hours sleep after 32 hours travelling, with the cockroaches of course.

The biggest culture shock for me in India is always the traffic and the reality that you never know when it is a strike or some other reason that cars, rikshas and taxis do not drive. The other two facts which are difficult for me is that people try to cheat you almost all the time or they don’t keep promises about appointments. But with these things you just have to learn to live and play the same game.

Anyway, after one or two weeks I was already in, finding myself bargaining, complaining and standing for my rights. People here notice quite well who is new tourist in India and who already knows the system. So those poor people who don´t know, they will be definitely cheated very well. Like me. I paid double price for a riksha drive in my second day from town to home. And being cheated for a double price is quite bad.

So that´s about the first culture shock. It is always nice to remembering it later. But next shock was waiting for me. First day in my practical training place was quite an experience. Manager was not around, so one other girl introduced the orphanage for me. She is also studying bachelor of social services in Germany and doing her internship. She was been here that time already two months and told me all the horrible things about the place.

First of all, because the manager wasn´t around, the staff didn´t work properly and the first sight of the place was very shocking. Place and children was quite dirty and also very sick. There has been winter so children have been suffering for example about cold, fever, vomiting and diarrhea.

It felt like there wasn´t any kind of order. Everybody were just running and hanging around and some of the stuff tried to yell them or drag them somewhere quite aggressively.

Still the most shocking part was the smell of all the human excretions. How some of the children just were there with vomit on their shirt and pees and poops in their pants. I am glad that I am not so afraid of human excretions, but still it was shocking, Why they don´t clean them?

It was shocking, but after the manager came back, place starts to work better. And why they do how they do, it is been easy to understand later. There are only six teachers working on a day time for all the 60 disabled children and two of them are working 24hours. Also the whole staff group is quite new and their orientation into their work is in half way.

They have problems how to keep their workers. Usually staff is changing once in a year or even more often. The most common reasons for that are that salary is quite low compared to other places and this job is very hard. Other reason is that women will get married and in India after marriage they don´t usually have to work anymore.

I don´t know but I think that problem could be solved quite easily if they would like to. They could hire more staff and pay a little more salary (orphanage doesn´t have financial problems right now). Especially for those teachers, who are working there 24 hours, should made a different kind of schedule. More free time. Now they don´t have any. I have been talking about how they could make their workers feel better, but it is very difficult.

When you try to ask about this from the manager, I mean that does he know how his staff is doing etc. He will say that they are ok, they are Indians and used to hard work. But anyway you can see they are not ok. They are tired, frustrated and too often losing their patience.

Right away I start to tell all the problems and difficulties I have noticed here. Sorry about that, it is not a good habit. By the way, thank you Sisko “the English teacher” that you have trained us about how to behave in other cultures. This has been one of the most difficult thing for me - manners and how to be a polite, but still yourself. And all these manners we don´t have in Finland. Other Europeans are managing quite well, but we don´t have even please in our language. How horrible is that? But I am learning.

Excuse me Sir or Madame. That’s the first thing you say when speak to somebody. Not like me at first for the manager: Heiiii Karthik! when we do this and that…

But after all the children are amazing! Even though they are living in this kind of circumstances, most of them are happy, though they are also quite restless.

When you´re working with them with a time and patience you can see how they calm down as well. Still problem is that usually there is too big group for a one person to taken care of. And situations will easily turn to chaotic.

The basic day goes like this. In the morning I take a riksha with others who are working in the same orphanage or a bus. Riksha is more comfortable and faster. But in the bus is life. It is also cheap. One hour trip with two buses cost 10cents. Usually you have to pack into the bus and stand all the way in very crowded bus where music is a loud and people are either arguing or laughing about the crowded situation or something else – what I don´t usually understand. But I love it.

After the trip there is a morning pray in the orphanage even though they are not religious organization. They don´t teach any specific religion to children but they still want that they believe in something. It is just very rare in India that you don´t believe in anything.

After praying I start to clean the kids wounds, giving them a bath and practice how to use soap. Some of the kids need to be change once in a while. I try all the time to remind and explain for the teachers that we should use diapers, because in this way children will feel more comfortable and we would safe our nerves and time. And also that we need to wash them before we change the clothes. Sounds easy, but it is not, most of all it´s because we don´t have the same language. Only manager and his brother speak good English and usually they are busy in the office.

I have also painted with the kids and that’s been a success. Some of them calm down with the watercolors very well. And next plan is start to practice circus practice with the school kids. Children without disabilities are called as a school kids or normal kids. I prefer school kids. We have almost made all the circus toys, but how it is another story…

There is also lots of to do with hygienic issues, nutrition and rehabilitation plans. I am doing one rehabilitation plan for one boy, who don´t get almost any attention, because they don´t know how to work with him.

And there would so much other things I could tell, but my story is quite long already. Days go by very fast. I have met amazing people and I am learning English very well. Even though working is hard and you´re tired after every day. I am enjoying my life really much right now.

Pictures are from our painting group. Connection is too slow to attach more photos, sorry…

Leena Eskonen Sosku13